B.C. government wants feds to take lead on youth social media ban

The B.C. government says it wants the federal government to take the lead on a social media ban for youth. This comes after Manitoba’s premier recently announced plans to limit social media and chatbots for kids in his province.“Both minister (Rick) Glumac and I have written letters to the federal government that we think sets a strong regulatory regime when it comes to social media and AI chatbots,” Attorney General Niki Sharma said on Friday.“There are some clear things that we’re asking for.”The province says it wants to see any federal legislation to address online harms include age-appropriate design standards, make compliance mandatory, establish oversight to ensure compliance and age-related restrictions when platforms cannot show they are safe for youth. 1:09 Manitoba could fine social media companies billions if youth ban not enforced: Kinew Manitoba Premier Wab Kniew said they are not waiting for the federal government. Story continues below advertisement Australia put a similar ban in place last December, but early reviews of the legislation are mixed, with as many as 70 per cent of people under the age of 16 saying they have found ways around the ban. Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to